Bull finishing farm steered towards a sale

One of Northland’s most substantial bull finishing
farms has been placed on the market for sale.

The
400-hectare property is located on the western outskirts of
the township of Kawakawa in the Mid-North, and is held over
24 individual titles in three blocks. The farm’s
topography consists of 268 hectares of rolling to
medium-contour grazing paddocks, and 108 hectares of flat
land – allowing for tractor-access to 95 percent of the
property.

The farm also contains 24 hectares of mature
pruned pine trees ready for harvesting, and estimated to be
worth in the region of $360,000. The freehold farm has been
owned by three generations of the Cookson
family.

Originally established as a dairy farm but now run
as a bull finishing farm, the Kawakawa property has been
operated with two labour units - returning an average of
$1,225 per hectare over past three years.

The farm at 1752
Ruapekapeka Road is being marketed for sale by auction at
1pm on May 11 through Bayleys Whangarei. Rural specialists
Alex Smits and Lin Norris said the property stocked between
1100 – 1300 cattle over summer, easing back to between 750
– 880 animals over winter. Weaners were bought in and held
for two winters before being sent to market.

“When other
farms are having to re-stock during dry summer conditions,
this farm is able to maintain, and even increase stock
numbers, as the flats continue to grow grass. This growth
sustains between 200 – 450 large bales of baleage,” Mr
Smits said.

“There are six feed pads on the flats, and
these are used for winter and flood feeding out, with mobs
of up to 40 bulls held on each pad.

“The property has
been farmed conservatively over the past few years, and
there is scope for any new owner wishing to achieve a higher
level of stocking intensification through the greater
paddock subdivision - with the use of sticks and wires.
Currently, the farm is subdivided into 219
paddocks.”

Building Infrastructure on the farm consists
of a three-bedroom homestead, a second three-bedroom
manager’s dwelling, a basic two-bedroom single man’s
quarters, an old cow shed, woolshed, four fertiliser bins,
airstrip, rock quarry, two sets of yards sustained by
loading races, and multiple half-round and square hay barns
and implement sheds.

Soil types on the property consist of
predominantly of Hukerenui silt loam, with Otaha clay, and
Whakapara sand on the flats. Resulting pasture contained a
blend of rye and clover bases, with kikuyu. Mr Norris said
the property had a long history of fertiliser application
– with various quantities of sulphur, selenium and lime
being spread over the decades – and had twice been a
finalist in the Silver Fern Farms Plate to Pasture Awards
for farming excellence.

Mr Smits said that farm land in
Northland was cheaper than most other parts of New Zealand,
and the average winter temperature for the province ranged
between 12 – 15 Degrees. Both of these were reasons for
attracting rural property buyers to Northland.

“This
Ruapekapeka Road farm is 15 minutes from boat-launching
facilities in the Bay of Islands – handy to the Cape Brett
fishing grounds where kingfish, marlin, grouper and snapper
proliferate,” he said.

“Alternatively, with an
extensive Kawakawa River boundary and pond system, the farm
is well set up for ducks. Pheasants and white baiting
without leaving the property.

“The farm also borders the
town of Kawakawa which is renowned for the Hundertwasser
toilets, and the steam train which runs through the middle
of the town. Kawakawa is also on the Twin Coast Cycleway
which links Opua with Horeke.

Mr Norris said the property
was irrigated through a mix of spring-drawn water and town
supply – all stored in a range of header tanks before
being gravity fed to paddocks. Just down the road from the
farm was the Ruapekapeka pa site which was a pivotal
battlefield in the Maori Land Wars of the 1800s.

He said
the property’s main block fronted onto Ruapekapeka Road,
Paihia Road and Fraser Road – making stock management
straightforward. Internally, the property was accessible by
either quad-bike or tractor on a well-maintained race
network.

Bayleys is New Zealand's largest full-service real estate company. We offer expertise in the marketing and sale of a wide range of property, including residential real estate, farms and lifestyle blocks, and commercial and industrial property. This includes tourism and business sales such as hotels and motels. We also cover the real estate markets in Fiji and other Pacific Islands.

Bayleys also provides a complete property and facilities service including property management and valuations teams focused on achieving both Owner and Tenant satisfaction.

No other real estate company can match our breadth of coverage across all market sectors throughout New Zealand.

Contact Bayleys Real Estate

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